Feel free to ask questions. I'll do my best to answer.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Dry (fast) Bass...

After reading this: http://mehlau.net/audio/dual_nearfield_sub/ I wanted to try some nearfield subwoofing myself. In my previous multisub bass experiment, I was able to smooth out my bass response by using five subs in a somewhat random fashion. Well one of those subs died on me(the fifth one added) during some hardcore Willy Nelson listening. So I had to change the set up and I came across Mr. Mehlau's experiment. It was interesting to me that the fourth and fifth sub added were the closest to the listening position--right behind the couch. It was suggested that I should see what the fifth sub's response was, so in this experiment, I decided to use three subs directly behind my couch. I had just purchased a Marantz HT pre that has Audyssey MultEQXT and I wanted to see if I could duplicate Mr. Mehlau's success with it. Note that he has the upgraded '32' version of Audyssey.Okay, enough talk.

Frequency wise, the 5 sub set up was a significant improvement:

The time domain would slightly favor the nearfield subs in general:

Note the absolute level below 50Hz

Inevitably I'm going to be asked which "sounds better"? Well, I hate to disappoint, but the frequency graph says it all. I don't hear any difference in the bass 'speed'. All I hear is less deep bass. That said, if I could have it all (deep, flat, and dry bass) I would just to make sure I have the best possible. I think this also shows a good argument for the '32' version of Audyssey. Maybe I'm wrong however, but all of Mr. Mehlau's responses look better than mine.